Selfie as Dog

 

8/16/26 Self-portrait from mirror

Roy texted us a self-portrait he had made that morning. He challenged Mary Jean and me to make self-portraits by the end of the day for Selfie Sunday (which I guess is a thing, as I’ve long seen the hashtag, but I’ve never participated).

The last time I made a self-portrait, I had treated myself like a dog. I decided to do the same again, but this time I used a brush pen. Unusual for a self-portrait, I like this one, even with the severe selfie scowl.

Deep Fog in August

 

8/14/26 8:15 a.m., Maple Leaf neighborhood

The day dawned to a deep fog of the type we usually don’t see until autumn. Say it ain’t so!

Material and process notes: When drawing fog, I tend to use graphite, but on a whim I tried a Derwent Drawing pencil (Midnight 6710). Soft, creamy pencils like this make me want to bear down and use them like crayons, so it took some self-control to use as little pressure as possible.

Working on this sketch, I thought of all the exercises I’ve done from instruction books and in classes to make a gradient of values using one pencil, beginning from the lightest value and working darker. Drawing fog is the on-location version of that exercise: I must begin with the lightest value (the distant fir) so that I’ll know how much darker to make the other values.

Two Moments at Green Lake

 

8/13/26 Green Lake

I can’t count the many times I’ve sketched at Green Lake by now, yet I never tire of the (mostly) same subjects and similar compositions: trees, water, the opposite shoreline, ground shadows. Each is a new challenge cushioned by the familiar.

While the resident geese, too, have been sketched many times, I thought I found a fresh composition. A (human) couple were sitting on the bench when I began, but I went against my own urban sketching policy and didn’t sketch them first. Sure enough, they got up and left by the time I’d sketched the geese. Again, a challenge cushioned by the familiar.

Rear Views of the Center of the Universe

 

8/15/26 Lake Washington Ship Canal path, Fremont neighborhood

Lenin from the rear

Fremont, AKA the Center of the Universe, is one of my favorite sketching neighborhoods, and I was happy to be back there with USk Seattle. Although I’ve sketched the (in)famous statue of Lenin many times (and I’m sure other long-time sketchers have, too), I never seem to tire of his strong angles and challenging lighting from all the trees around him. This time I tried a fresh perspective – from the rear (at right).

After that, I took a long walk around Fremont to look for my next sketch and to soak in the happy Saturday-afternoon summer vibe. I found myself on the Lake Washington Ship Canal walking/biking path, where I stopped to see how the topiary dinosaurs (which I’ve sketched several times) were doing. Some years, they have looked shaggy or somewhat bald, but they were looking good last weekend. With temps in the mid-70s by then, I walked all around them to find a view that I could sketch in shade (top of post). Coincidentally, the only shady view was again from the rear. Unrecognizable in my sketch, the mama dinosaur’s rear end is on the far left.

Thumbnail to try out the square composition

The more inviting view was of the shadow pattern crossing the Ship Canal path, a power tower and the Aurora Bridge in the distance.

Material note: Lacking a fine-tip marker, I used a Pentel Sign brush pen to draw the relatively fine lines of the power tower in the color sketch – as well as the people, the dry-brushed border and to write the caption. The more I use it, the more I love this brush pen’s wide tip range and versatility (though I do curse its nonrefillable, disposable form factor).

New Drink & Draw Venue

 

8/14/26 Phinney Station, Phinney neighborhood

I feel like I say this every time, but USk Seattle showed a record-breaking turnout for last week’s drink & draw on a gorgeous afternoon! The venue, Phinney Station, was new to us, but I knew from sketching the final World Cup match there that it looked ideal – and it was! We filled up quite a few of their plentiful umbrella’d tables in a huge area. Two food trucks offered different foods, and bringing in outside food was also welcome. Of course, I’m always pleased by dog-friendly venues.

As usual, some folks new to Urban Sketchers joined us for the first time. Several others had come to previous drink & draws but had not yet joined us for regular sketch outings yet. One mentioned that while a general outing still feels intimidating, a casual sit-and-chat over brews feels more comfy and familiar. I’m happy that we have gatherings that are approachable at whatever level people feel ready to participate.

A Milestone Birthday

 

8/12/26 Kim' birthday celebration, University Village

At University Village, Kim’s sketching birthday party was already a treat just by being warm and mostly sunny. To top it off, she brought a magnificent peach galette ala mode from Coyle’s Bakeshop (sorry that I didn’t snap a photo of it, but take my word for it that it was magnificent).

As we all indulged, I sketched Kim and her other guests. Natalie recited a poem she had written to commemorate Kim’s milestone year. When I finished, I handed the sketch to Kim as her gift. (I used a half-sheet of Uglypads paper, which is a fun way to sketch in my usual colored-paper way without having to tear a page out of my sketchbook.)

Relaxed and happy, I looked past our table to sketch the distant scene. Celebrating a friend’s birthday is no different from my own: Another day cherished on planet Earth. (I think about this more often now: What a privilege life is.)

Behemoth

 

8/11/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Occasionally walking past the latest behemoth to join the ‘hood, I finally stopped to sketch it on a cool, sunny morning. Another walker stopped to see what I was sketching, and it launched a tirade of anger and frustration: These developments do nothing to resolve the severe shortage of affordable housing. The low quality of materials used by this and other notorious developers means the building will likely be torn down in a couple of decades (unlike our own homes that are a hundred years old). We both observed the number of trees that were probably cut down on the back side of the property where three more duplicate houses are in various stages of construction by the same developer. Note the scale of nearby houses.